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Gelato Fiasco becomes No. 1 fastest-growing gelato pint brand in U.S.
National growth strategy works for made-in-Maine brand of frozen treats

BRUNSWICK, Maine — Gelato Fiasco is the No. 1 fastest-growing gelato pint brand in U.S. grocery stores, according to recent industry data.(1) Year-over-year growth exceeds 44% nationally and 84% on the East Coast.

No matter how the numbers are sliced, the story is the same. Gelato Fiasco’s selection of Maine-made, indulgent flavors is breaking through in a notoriously competitive section of the grocery store, which is crowded by brands owned by multinational corporations. The data show:

• On the East Coast, Gelato Fiasco is now the No. 2 gelato pint brand in overall total sales, after Unilever-owned Talenti.(2)
• Gelato Fiasco is now the No. 1 independently owned gelato pint brand in total overall sales in that region.
• Beyond gelato, Gelato Fiasco is the No. 3 fastest-growing frozen dairy pint brand on the East Coast among companies with significant distribution.(3) When excluding trendy erythritol desserts, Gelato Fiasco catapults to No. 1 on this measure.

Successful current placements include nearly 1,100 Publix stores across the Southeast; about 800 Ahold-owned Giant and Stop ‘n’ Shop stores up the East Coast; some 250 Walmart stores in Texas; and thousands of other regional and independent grocers. Top flavors include Mascarpone Pistachio Caramel, Torched Marshmallow S’more, and Dark Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt.

Gelato Fiasco’s fortunes should continue to rise in 2018, with the recent or confirmed upcoming additions of Sprouts Farmers Market, a fast-growing chain of grocers mostly in the Southwestern United States; Earth Fare, a popular chain on in the Southeast; and a variety of regional stalwarts. The company has reduced its Suggested Retail Price to $5.99 and its sales team is aggressively pursuing many other major retailers as part of a national all-in strategy.

“Once it appeared we’d be nationally viable, we chose to invest locally and build our Flavor Foundry in Brunswick into a state-of-the-art facility,” said Joshua Davis, co-founder and CEO. “Ultimately, that investment in people and equipment paid off – we are able to stay in our hometown, make the best-tasting all-natural gelato, and produce pints to meet demand from fans across the country. We are especially grateful for our customers and our supporters at Camden National Bank and F.A.M.E., which provided financing for our expansion in Maine.”

The team at Gelato Fiasco’s Flavor Foundry in Brunswick now creates about 12,000 pints on a typical day. All gelato flavors are made with milk from family farms, natural cane sugar, and great flavor ingredients. The Flavor Foundry expansion is helping to support a wider flavor line; the company currently offers 14 flavors in pints, with six more flavors to be released for 2018. Those new flavors are focused on consumer demand for indulgent chunks and swirls.

The company’s flavors have received the highest awards for quality in the Specialty Food Association’s annual sofi competition; were featured not once, but twice, by the editors of O, The Oprah Magazine; and have been praised in a variety of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit.

ABOUT GELATO FIASCO:
Gelato Fiasco is the fastest-growing brand of gelato in U.S. grocery stores. Gelato Fiasco makes all of its grocery store pints at its Flavor Foundry in Brunswick, Maine, with family farms, natural cane sugar, and genuine fruits, nuts, cocoas, chocolates, or confections. Pints are sold at more than 5,000 grocery stores across the United States. The company also operates year-round scoop shops in Brunswick and Portland, Maine. It can be found @gelatofiasco on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and at www.gelatofiasco.com. It was founded in 2007 by Joshua Davis and Bruno Tropeano.

FOOTNOTES:
(1) Analysis of IRI data, 52 weeks ending 9-10-17, gelato subset of U.S. frozen dairy pints.
(2) Analysis of IRI data, 24 weeks ending 9-10-17, gelato subset of frozen dairy pints sold in Northeast and Southeast regions.
(3) Analysis of IRI data, 24 weeks ending 9-10-17, frozen dairy pints sold in the combined Northeast and Southeast regions. Our analysis uses $1 million in sales in these combined regions this period as an indicator of significant grocery distribution.